Hockey India election: Who we need, 45 or 83?
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This country has to decide in two days time whom it needs to run hockey affairs: 45-year old hockey player or a 83-year small-time politician!
As each day a legitimate voter turns out be bogus, and a bogus organization muster up to vote, the Hockey India election is getting curiouser and curiouser.
The fight for the chair of Hockey India is between an 83 plus lady versus a player whom we all see on the turf.
He lived in dormitories, despite being there is no need for it, just because he wanted to play hockey.
He played top level hockey for, take your breadth, 14 years starting from 1983.
He scored for us, he played for our national team, and was joyous when we won, and was lost in emotion whenever the team lost. He was one of us.
He shared our emotions, feelings — on the turf.
He fought against rascals who masqueraded as the administrators, sometimes he won that off-field battle, sometimes not.
He is Pargat Singh, a player who, for once, came out of age-old Indian players’ mindset that they have to take orders, maximum they can dream is manager or coach post, or selector or observer.
Here is a player who dreams beyond.
Tens of players before him had vote in their hands. Gurbux Singh, Roop Singh, Charanjit Singh, P Krishamurthy, all had won gold but were happily supporting someone other than player for the top IHF post.
This man got the vote only recently, and for that he had political support and came out and openly, fought against what many others would have never dared – calling the IOA president Suresh Kalmadi of being running a mafia.
This player had the moral conviction and courage to say that, and when he said what the world wanted to hear, the whole world believed him.
Pitted against him in the election is 83-old apple orchid owner.
She has been there in the top chair of Indian hockey for more than three decades, still she feels she has a lot to offer!
Those who want to enjoy the fruits of power want someone rubber stamp, so busy in other walks of life and won’t turn eyes towards hockey.
They have all these credentials in projecting someone so fits the needs.
July 28th may not be a historic day, will be passed as yet another a election day.
Yes it can turn out to be a historic day also, if the country needs a player to run one of its cherished sports.
Am basically a historian, I wait for history to be made.
Note: Pargat Sing was born on March 5, 1965
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I hope he must be thinking how he plans to restore normalcy to a crippled system of hockey. He must be planning to take up issues like: Grading system for players, working towards generating more revenue for hockey, players fees, player exploitation issues, come down on corruption, development of hockey at all levels (grass root, school, college and national), development of players, coaches, umpires and reaching out to belts where hockey has lost its charm.
I sincerely wish and hope that Singh saheb chooses the path to developmental policies rather than the path to criticism.
Pargat Singh is the new face of Indian Hockey. We only need to look at the muddling affairs of the last few years and the shameful mess that Indian Hockey is in to see where these “dinosaurs” have brought us. In the words of the French National Soccer coach- “We are a small Hockey Nation”… and that is saying a lot- for the Eight Time Olympic Gold Medal Winners. We need fresh blood and we need fresh ideas. We need the Pargat Singhs and the Viren Rasquinha’s of today- not doddering old politicians who do not understand the game, have never really played it, and are building political fiefdoms for themselves and their cronies. Pargat knows hockey- both as a player and as an administrator. He has organized the Punjab Gold Cup, and yes, he has political connections too- so he can’t be steamrolled by the “powers that be”. Vote for Pargat. Vote for the future of Indian Hockey. We have languished in the doldrums of World Hockey for long enough. The fresh winds are blowing- lets get our sails full and join world hockey’s elite- where we rightfully belong. Pargat has a better chance of getting us there than the dinosaurs!